Small Business Do you think the commitment to sustainable retail practices is important for any business? How do you feel about Bolt Logistics' efforts in this area? Absolutely - climate change is knocking on everyone’s door and it’s imperative that we all take action in whichever ways we can. The thinking that our efforts will have too small of an impact and therefore aren’t worth the effort is the kind of thinking that perpetuates the problem. Whether retail business ships one order or one million orders, use one box a day, or 10 thousand boxes a day, finding ways to ensure everything we do is sustainably oriented will, in aggregate, make a strong impact. There are more and more options in the market where you can vote with your wallet and choose a sustainable solution, so it’s becoming easier than ever before to hop on and have the impact that you want to. There is still certainly room for improvement, but directionally, this is where the industry is going. We consider Bolt to be a leader in this space, making heavy investments in EV infrastructure, sustainable sourcing practices, and making carbon-conscious decisions throughout our organization.
What is your opinion of eCommerce and how do you think it will shape Canada’s future? The pandemic propelled e-commerce forward by 10 years. Businesses of all shapes and sizes need to develop an omnichannel approach to distributing their products. E-commerce is decisively here to stay but I think it’s how businesses architect and position themselves within that arena. Owning the customer from an acquisition and data perspective is key -- it allows you to remarket, survey, and build upon a customer base versus jockeying for a position within a marketplace. This flows through to the last mile as well, where your brand really needs to show up in a big way (shipping on time, in full, and meeting customer experience expectations). What we’re also seeing is that it’s not necessarily the brands with the longest track record in e-commerce that are winning, it’s ones that have a consistent system from production to fulfillment that is able to capture market share and win. Given the shift to a “work from anywhere” environment and the digitally native aspects of ecommerce, merchants can and have launched their brands from anywhere in the world. For those who choose Canada, Bolt is there to ensure they are represented by a world-class logistics and fulfillment partner.
The larger incumbents are
virtually all based in the US, and we’ve been cognizant of the
opportunity to support proudly Canadian brands.
68 - CanadianSME - December 2021
